It is a collision of neo-noir, erotic thriller and queer revenge tale in the film Femme by Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, their first feature based on their 2021 award-winning short film with the same title. Misfits’ Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Candyman) plays Jules who is Aphrodite Banks on stage and introduces himself through an elaborate lip-sync session. This is followed right away by a chilling homophobic encounter at a corner shop involving a group of men led by George MacKay’s Preston that leaves Jules bloodied, battered and completely shattered.
Months later, when Jules sees Preston in a gay sauna, he comes up with a scheme to expose him — sleep with him on camera, record the act, and post it online. This paves way for an anxiety-filled fast-paced exploration into sexual manipulation and fluctuating notions of masculinity — an electrifying suspense drama through an intriguing dual character study.
As Jules, Stewart-Jarrett captivates us with his performance, switching between total empowerment as Aphrodite while performing on stage and total submission after being beaten up. He looks to get solace out of annihilating his assailant but ends up developing some weird connection with Preston instead. What starts off as brutal meaningless sex – during which at times Jules seems more attracted to than scared of Preston – morphs into something else wherein Jules assumes a more heteronormative gender expression in order to fit in Preston’s crowd until eventually he finds himself trying out dominating him so as to be in charge.
He has great chemistry with George MacKay who breaks away from playing typical male leads typecasted in movies like 1917; in this movie however MacKay leans into the dark menace and hyper-masculinity that characterized his role in Justin Kurzel’s True History Of The Kelly Gang. Preston is always heated, animalistic figure whose chin is constantly raised defiantly, while MacKay undergoes a physical makeover with tattoos and costume design. Whenever he appears on screen, your fists harden waiting for the moment that will trigger him off, or maybe the foot of Jules that goes astray; yet it’s remarkable how MacKay inspires such fear and later sympathy as Jules grows on him, revealing what made him this way.
This kind of revenge story has been told before, as have closeted homophobes projecting their own shame onto people comfortable in their own skin. The resolution also comes as no surprise — although the final few scenes are certainly heartbreaking — and whether it’s worth sympathizing with someone who committed such a violent hate crime so casually is debatable. However, the execution counts here—Femme is a vividly satisfying experience because of its artistic clarity, well-crafted script and superb performances.
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